Mr. CORSON. The requirements per quarter are approximately $20,000,000. The CHAIRMAN. All right, give us a statement on this, Mr. Altmeyer. SUMMARY OF ESTIMATE Mr. ALTMEYER. This $12,500,000 is to supplement the present appropriation of $62,500,000 for the administration of unemployment compensation in the States and the administration of the United States Employment Service. This table which I would like to submit for your information indicates the several purposes for which this total sum is required. Statement of supplemental appropriation required for grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration, fiscal year 1942 Purpose for which required Appropria- Appropriation recommended by Bureau of the Budget 1. Additional amount required for grants to States and Federal operation of em- (a) Amount in excess of 1942 budget estimates needed to meet $5,886, 655 (b) Amount required to replace Wagner-Peyser, State and local funds during second half of fiscal year, which are not available for Federal operation of employment offices. 3,096, 239 2. National occupational inventory of Selective Service registrants to insure maximum utilization of workers' skills in essential industries, and to assist in allocating the supply of workers between essential industries and the armed forces. 3. Extension of farm placement services to provide for the mobilization of farm labor supply through the establishment of approximately 400 additional employment offices in critical agricultural counties. 4. Expansion of departmental and regional staff to provide for handling the additional activities directly related to the war-production effort, including those activities arising from responsibilities assigned to the U. S. Employment Service by the War Production Board. 5. Salary adjustments resulting from State action raising salaries of State employees due to increased living costs. Total The need for the $12,500,000 comes about this way. The budgets submitted by the State employment-security agencies to provide for the costs of administering the State unemployment-compensation laws and the former State employment services after being scrutinized and revised by our regional representatives, before approval by the Board, totaled $5,832,498 more than the present $62,500,000 appropriation, plus other funds available prior to January 1, under the Wagner-Peyser Act. The accompanying exhibit 1 indicates that while the estimated expenditures for the fiscal year 1942 show an increase of only 8 percent over the fiscal year 1941, the work load has increased in greater proportion, the number of employment-service placements showing an increase of 25.4 percent, with new applications increased by 23.6 percent. While the number of new unemployment-compensation claims shows a decrease of 7 percent as compared with the preceding fiscal year, the number of benefit checks issued is increased 4.4 percent and the number of wage items received shows an increase of 16.6 per cent. The large increase in new and continued claims and benefit checks during the second half of the fiscal year 1942, as compared with the first half of this fiscal year, arises from the displacement of workers in the conversion of industry to a war-production basis. EXHIBIT 1.-Amounts budgeted and expended for Employment Security Administration in State agencies, and basic work load factors, by budgetary periods 1 Wisconsin expenditures estimated. 2 Estimated on basis of accrued and prospective savings of $1,993,766 without consideration of prospective additional requirements of $3,520,000. 3 Estimated. Source for basic load factors: Reports and Analysis Division, Bureau of Employment Security, Social Security Board, Mar. 5, 1942. Then in addition to that there is a loss of $3,096.000 to the Federal Government brought about by the fact that the Wagner-Peyser law. upon which the State unemployment offices operated, provides a 50–50 matching by the States, and for the second half of this fiscal year the States would have had to put up approximately $1,500,000, and the Federal Government would have had to put up approximately $1,500,000 under the appropriation to finance the Wagner-Peyser Act, making a total of a little bit more than $3.000.000. That is no longer available for expenditure for the United States Employment Service because, as you know, beginning January 1, they have been operated directly by the Federal Government and not by the States. SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM QUESTIONNAIRES-OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION WORK (See p. 28) In addition to that $3,000,000 there is an estimate of $3,042,000, which is composed of the cost of analyzing and tabulating the results of this occupational questionnaire that the Selective Service System is sending out. Mr. CORSON. The questionnaires have not been sent out yet. The CHAIRMAN. But they will be sent out? Mr. CORSON. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Is that a new activity, then? The CHAIRMAN. Why are you required to secure this information? Mr. ALTMEYER. That information is necessary because of the crying shortage of manpower in this country, and the need of a closer liaison between the United States Employment Service and the Selective Service System. The CHAIRMAN. Is this in response to legislation or administrative order? Mr. ALTMEYER. I think that is in response to legislation when they required the registration of everybody from 18 years of age to 64, inclusive. Mr. CORSON. The Selective Service Act provided for the registration of all males between 18 and 64 years of age with a statutory provision that only those between the years of 20 and 44 were registered for military service. Those between the ages of 18 and 20 and the ages of 45 and 64, were registered for use in industry. This material is to permit the Employment Service to obtain information as to the occupational skills of those between the ages of 20 and 44. The CHAIRMAN. And you are going to analyze and tabulate that information at the request of the Selective Service? Mr. ALTMEYER. Yes, sir; that is correct. The CHAIRMAN. This language provides for further new activities. NEW EMPLOYMENT OFFICES FOR FARM PLACEMENT WORK Mr. ALTMEYER. May I say that this figure that I gave you of $3,042,000, which includes the cost of handling this occupational classification work for the Selective Service System also includes $440,000 to finance the opening and operation of 462 new employment offices for farm-placement work. The CHAIRMAN. They have hitherto been handled by the States, have they not? Mr. ALTMEYER. Yes; they have. The CHAIRMAN. With your cooperation? Mr. ALTMEYER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. And now the Federal Government has taken them over entirely? Mr. ALTMEYER. Yes, sir; that is right. The CHAIRMAN. Is that in response to legislation or administrative order? Mr. ALTMEYER. That was at the direction of the President, based upon his request to the governors of each of the States to transfer the operations of the United States Employment Service to Federal operation. The CHAIRMAN. The States approved that, did they? Mr. ALTMEYER. All of the Governors consented to the transfer. The CHAIRMAN. There has been no objection to that on the part of the States? Mr. ALTMEYER. No, sir; that is there was no refusal on the part of any Governor to the transfer. Mr. LUDLOW. I do not mean to contradict you, Mr. Altmeyer, but I think there was a pretty distinct disapproval of it in Indiana, the State I come from. Mr. ALTMEYER. I did not mean to say, Mr. Ludlow, that some of the States did not raise a question about it. That is, the Employment Service, not Unemployment Insurance. Mr. LUDLOW. Yes; I understood, it was the Employment Service. Mr. ALTMEYER. Yes. Mr. LUDLOW. The reason I happened to know about it is because I received some very strenuous objections to it in my correspondence from the State, and I do not think it was by any means unanimous at all. Mr. ALTMEYER. Well, every single governor, as I recall, replied to the President's telegram agreeing to the transfer. Mr. LUDLOW. I want to ask you, if I might, about this change of language. Perhaps my attention was diverted otherwise, but you are proposing a change of language, new language? Mr. ALTMEYER. Yes. Mr. LUDLOW. To effect what purpose? Mr. ALTMEYER. May I first finish up this statement on the $3,042,000? Mr. LUDLOW. Yes. Mr. ALTMEYER. That includes $440,000 for opening new offices for farm-placement work. That is a new activity, which is being done at the request of the Secretary of Agriculture, who insisted that we would either have to extend our employment offices and facilities to relieve the farmers because of the great and crying shortage in farm labor, or he would have to set up a separate employment service of his own. Of course, it is much less costly for the United States Employment Service to expand its offices and service than to set up separate employment offices dealing exclusively with farm labor. Mr. LUDLOW. Mr. Chairman, I do not want to obstruct here or to delay in any way, but I do not understand this change of language. The CHAIRMAN. Yes; but before he starts that, I would like to ask this question: When did this become effective, on the first of the year, January 1? Mr. ALTMEYER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Then the States have not paid any part of the maintenance of these offices since the 1st of January? Mr. ALTMEYER. Where there was a lease in effect in the name of the State we have let that lease run its course and made available to the States the funds necessary to pay the rent under that lease. The CHAIRMAN. You have compensated them? Mr. ALTMEYER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. So, as a matter of fact, the States have actually paid nothing since the first of the year? Mr. ALTMEYER. They have not paid anything of their own funds. Anything that we have not paid has been defrayed out of Federal grant. The CHAIRMAN. Now, then, there would be considerable saving to the States? Mr. ALTMEYER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. How much would the savings to the States be? Mr. ALTMEYER. About $3,000,000 from the Wagner-Peyser Act. or $1,500,000 for this last half of the present fiscal year. The CHAIRMAN. Continue with your analysis of this. Mr. ALTMEYER. Yes, sir. Mr. O'NEAL. Are you authorized to do farm-placement work under the law? Mr. ALTMEYER. Yes; we are specifically authorized and directed to do so. EXPANSION OF DEPARTMENTAL AND REGIONAL FEDERAL STAFFS FOR OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS WORK Mr. ALTMEYER. Then there is an item of $230,000 for expansion of departmental and regional Federal staffs necessary because of the growing operations of the United States Employment Service. This sum is especially needed to permit the expansion in what is known as occupational analysis work. This work is designed to discover the hidden skills of workers who are registered so that these bottlenecks that have developed in the defense industries can be met through replacement of men who have skills that approximate the skills that are needed. This sum will also provide for the furnishing of labor market information to the War Production Board in connection with the placing of contracts, the erection of war plants, and that sort of thing, so that they can locate them with an eye to the availability of labor. SALARY INCREASES TO STATE EMPLOYEES TO MEET THE INCREASED COST OF LIVING Then there is an item of $298,000 needed to defray salary increases resulting from State action which has been taken and which will be taken to meet the rise in the cost of living. For example, in the States of Maine and Massachusetts there has been a general State-wide increase in salaries, and the policy of the Social Security Board has been to keep the salaries in the field of unemployment compensation in line with salaries for other State employees. Mr. JOHNSON of West Virginia. Do we only have two States in there that have undertaken to give that relief?" Mr. ALTMEYER. There are two States that have taken State-wide action. We anticipate that there will be more of them that will do that, and so we put in the very small sum of $298,000 to take care of any other general increase. Mr. JOHNSON of West Virginia. I am not very strong on this local relief. If you cannot give it to everybody, do not give it to anyone. |